


I Need That

by fromthedepthsofinsanity



Series: First Line - Naruto Edition [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Contests, First Line Series, Kazekage Gaara (Naruto), M/M, Post-Time Skip, gaanaru - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24550756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromthedepthsofinsanity/pseuds/fromthedepthsofinsanity
Summary: Naruto discovers a spicy noodle contest in Suna!
Relationships: Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: First Line - Naruto Edition [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774414
Comments: 10
Kudos: 110





	I Need That

“I need that.” 

Naruto has his face all but pressed against the window of Suna’s only ramen shop. Well, the only place that served ramen. Just a noodle restaurant, really. (That in and of itself was painful to witness. If Naruto wasn’t so dead-set on being Hokage, he would consider moving to Suna and starting his own ramen chain, maybe making a business deal with Ichiraku’s to spread the love.)

But there wasn’t time to think of the money-making possibilities! He needed to get his ass in the restaurant!

“Need that?” Gaara asked. “You really want it?”

‘That’ was a stuffed panda. Not just any stuffed panda, but a limited edition Kazekage-dressed red-and-white panda. All he had to do was eat their spiciest noodles (“Hotter than the desert!!” The advertisement claimed.) in fifteen minutes, broth and all, and it would be his. 

He could totally do that. 

“I suppose I could ask how much-”

“No!!”

“No?”

“I’m gonna win it! Fair and square!”

When Naruto had come for a visit, Gaara hadn’t expected the tour of his village to include a contest. In his defense, it was very hard to predict what would be going on when Naruto was around. It was part of his appeal, and Gaara found it hard to deny him.  _ Him _ , the Kazekage of all people, a sucker for a smile, bright eyes, and reckless confidence. All of which Naruto had in spades. 

Gaara couldn’t stop him even if he desperately wanted to. Which, he was finding he didn’t want to prevent Naruto from doing much of anything really. 

The bell rang pleasantly as the door swung open, alerting all to their arrival. The ten diners, waitress, and cook all looked up. The staff smiled in greeting as Naruto took a seat at the bar. 

“Welcome!” A cheery call. “How are you today?” 

“Great!” Naruto fed off her energy. “I wanna try the challenge! One plea-” 

“Two, actually.” Gaara said as he took a seat next to him. 

“Oh! Kazekage-sama! It’s been a long time!” She clapped her hands together in excitement. “Are you sure you wanna try? We just finished a batch of the soup you like.” 

Gaara only nodded. “Yes.” 

“Alrighty then! Aoi-kun! We have two more takers!” She sang. 

Naruto took the opportunity to lean close to him. “You sure?” 

Again, a nod. “If you lose, at least there’s still an opportunity to win the prize.” 

“Hey! You sayin’ you think I’ll lose?!” He pouted. “That’s not nice!” 

“I have every confidence in you.” 

His mouth snapped right shut and could say nothing. What exactly was he supposed to say to that? Of course, it wasn't unusual. Why shouldn't Gaara think he could do it? Smirking to himself, Naruto's chest puffed up. Yeah! He'd win this no problem. 

"Are you sure though?" Gaara asked. "I could just ask to see how much it is. No need to put yourself through the trouble."   


"Fair! And! Square!" Naruto repeated. "You don't gotta cater to me like a pet, you know."  


"I have the money." A wistful reply, as if he'd willingly spend every dime he had with no qualms if it made Naruto happy. 

As it was, it didn't. Naruto was very much not used to being spoiled by many people, but he needn't tell Gaara that. He couldn't fault him. If their positions were reversed, he'd be doing the very same. 

His cheeks went a little red at the thought. A dream held since childhood, one achieved by his friend in another village. He was exceptionally proud of Gaara, how far he'd come since their first encounter, how kind he had became, how much he'd grown... 

He got a little redder in the face. 

“Here you go!” Chipper still, even when she set in front of them two very large bowls filled to the brim with noodles and broth so spicy it made the air crackle. A masochist, she must have been, to be so delighted by the looks they gave the meals in front of them. “The rules are simple! All you have to do is eat everything in the bowl in front of you, including the broth. You can’t have water in between and you need to finish in fifteen minutes. Do all that and your meal is free, you’ll win a prize and a spot on our wall!” 

She held out her hand to direct their attention to the wall of fame, and a pathetic wall it was. Either not many accepted the challenge or the dish was so incredibly spicy, only five people (one being the waitress) had survived to the end. As Naruto really took her in, she looked the type to freeze even the strongest of hellfires over with a well-placed smile and giggly promise of harm. She probably took one look down at the bowl, threatened it, and it became as refreshing as cold cucumber soup. 

Naruto had learned that it was best to just stay kind and polite, and they wouldn’t have any problems. 

“Ready?” She asked, pulling a small timer from her apron pocket. They nodded, and she pushed the button. “Go!” 

The first few bites Naruto inhaled were fine. 

The next few after that… not so fine. 

It wasn’t a spice that hit one immediately. Oh no, that would be much too easy, facing a foe head on. It crept through the underbrush, lured him into a false sense of security, before jumping out and beating him over the head and neck repeatedly with a log it had picked up on the way to beat his ass. 

Naruto wheezed as he sucked in noodles. Streams were coming from his eyes as well as his nose. His sinuses were trying to evacuate everything they had in them; his eyes thought if they ran enough they could run right out of his head and escape. The steam from the bowl was even stinging his skin right off his skull. 

No wonder their Wall of Fame was so pitiful! 

“It’s so spicy!” Naruto said uselessly. As if talking could save him now. “How can it be so damn spicy!?” 

A movement to his right caught his eye. In his misery, he’d completely forgotten about his fellow competitor. 

While Naruto suffered loudly, Gaara had taken the silent approach. He rubbed at his running eyes and stopped only a moment to clutch his chopsticks firmly in his hand. 

“How are you finding it so far, Kazekage-sama?” The waitress asked pleasantly. 

Naruto briefly wondered if she got some perverse fix from watching customers suffer like this, but the thought quickly left his head as the spice continued to stab at his mouth and tender insides. 

“Incredible.” Was the only reply he could give before continuing on. 

“You’re a third of the way done. You have ten minutes left.” She said cheerfully with a glint in her eye. 

Why was time moving so slow?! Was fifteen minutes really this long?! Naruto would die before the end. He could feel his determination slipping with every second not passing. 

Looking down at his bowl, he lamented just how much he had left. 

“I can’t do it!” He heard a shout from across the room. “It’s too spicy!!” 

“Ch-check please.” Another begged. “And water. G-gallons of water.” 

Well, Pervy Sage always said there was no shame in knowing when to quit. Naruto raised his hand to get the waitress’s attention. 

“W-water please.” Naruto asked as politely as he could. The spice took the opportunity to attack his vocal cords. “Two waters please.” 

“Better luck next time!” She said as she set the two blessedly large glasses in front of him. 

Like there would be a next time! Naruto had heard how dumb he was on occasion, but he wasn’t that dumb! 

He drained a glass without stopping for even one breath, feeling too in love with the near-instant beginnings of relief. ‘Go, little water warriors!’ He urged mentally. ‘Go and avenge me!’ 

Sighing, he picked up the other glass and held it out to Gaara. 

“Gaara.” He tried. “Here-” 

But determination flared in those pale greens. The Kazekage’s hands snapped to either side of his bowl, brought the rim to his mouth, and tilted it up for Gaara to all but chug the noodles and broth left. 

Naruto froze as if witnessing a murder. He killed a friend via a spicy noodle challenge, and he had to sit and watch the whole thing transpire as a useless bystander. 

Gaara slammed the bowl back down onto the counter in front of him, now surprisingly empty, and commanded all the attention of everyone in the restaurant. A collective breath was held as they all stared at him, waiting for him to just fall over and die. 

“Time.” He croaked as he fought back more tears. 

The waitress checked. “With seven minutes to spare, you’re a winner! Congratulations, Kazekage-sama!” 

Hesitant, disbelieving clapping filled the air from the other diners, but it was all lost on Gaara. He snatched the water glass Naruto offered and chugged it with the same fervor he showed just a moment ago. It didn’t help. At least, it didn’t help much. He could still feel the spice eating at the bottoms of his eyes like hungry monsters and shredding his throat with their claws. 

“Here you go! Your prize!” 

The waitress held out the panda to him. Mechanically, he took it and hugged it close. When had she even left to get it? Time was moving weird now, and his senses were shot from shock. 

Hotter than the Desert. More like hotter than a volcano on the sun. 

“Isn’t it the cutest?” She cooed. “I have the other two kinds at home! I’m going to try my hand at winning this one as soon as we get a few more takers. I gotta preserve my spot on the wall after all, and I want a complete panda collection.” 

Naruto nearly spit out the refilled water he had to his lips, but thankfully, his body craved the cooling it promised more than it wanted to eject its surprise. She had done this two times already?! And wanted to try  _ again _ ?! What was she made out of?!?!

Gaara drank another glass as well, slowly feeling more and more himself, paid for Naruto’s meal, and left with him. As soon as Naruto stepped outside, the panda was shoved into his arms. 

“Treasure it.” Gaara croaked again, rubbing at his eye.

Wet eyed, red faced, panting and heaving, they must have looked a sight to passersby. Naruto hugged the large bear to his chest, loving the squish and incredibly soft fabric against his abused skin. Its little Kazekage hat nearly poked him in the eye as he rubbed his face against it. 

"Thank you." He said with a croak of his own and nodded gratefully. “I will.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I really just wanted to write about a spicy noodle contest. The opportunity presented itself when I got this first line =) 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and I hope to fill the Gaara/Naruto tag up more in the future!
> 
> *Edit: I realized that in my haste to post I forgot to mention that this, while the first line presented an opportunity to write it, was HEAVILY inspired by a comic titled Tamen De Gushi. I haven’t read the whole thing, only parts, but the pages I’ve seen are extraordinary. Check it out if you have a chance!


End file.
